Episode 80: Working Moms vs. Stay-at-Home Moms

Join Lindsay as she discusses working parents and stay-at-home parents and listens to the stories of four women that have done both.

Women interviewed in this podcast:
Verlyne Henrie:Lives in North Logan, Utah, with her husband, 4 children, 2 cats, and a dog. She’s a pediatric nurse, which is a job she loves almost as much as she loves being called ‘mom’. She is trying to live her life without regrets.

Mary Harshaw Rindlesbach:Mother of two, Lover of pugs, Natural redhead, Works as a reality TV researcher MA Film Studies (Emory U), BA Media Arts Studies (BYU,) Lifelong Mormon, Had TV debut earlier this year on a Cooking Channel pilot but not for her cooking skills – it was more a matter of circumstance and she’s trying to make sure it never happens again.

Andrea Radke Moss: Andrea G. Radke-Moss is a professor of history at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she teaches courses in U.S. history, American Foundations, the Industrial Age, the American West, and every once in a while, a senior seminar in American women’s history. She is an author of numerous books, articles and chapters on women in the American West and Mormon women. She blogs at Juvenile Instructor, and lives in Rexburg, Idaho, with her husband and two children, who have a part-time nanny.

Ana Nelson Shaw: Ana Nelson Shaw is a grad student, mom, college instructor, Primary chorister, and freelance writer. She believes in going the distance to see old friends, big Sunday dinners, storytime, and nerdy TV. She sort of blogs very sporadically at Watch Out for Mama.

7 thoughts on “Episode 80: Working Moms vs. Stay-at-Home Moms”

Thanks for letting me tell my story. Listening to it made me cry. Good news: I’m starting a master’s degree program this fall, something that fills me with excitement!
But, that doesn’t mean that I regret having my children, or spending time being their mother. I just wish I’d known I had choices. But, as Lindsay said, it’s never too late!

This was great! I loved hearing the different women’s experiences. It was so fascinating (and in some cases, heart-rending) to hear how different people have solved the work-family tension. It’s really unfortunate that it’s so difficult, and can lead to so much unhappiness and guilt regardless of what solutions people choose.

Lindsay, you asked about whether people preferred this type of podcast or the more casual chatty kind. Really, I’m just a junkie for everything you and your co-hosts do, but I love both of them. I’d love to hear more like this, but I also really enjoy the ones that involve lots of banter between you and Malia, for example. Sorry to not have a definitive answer!

I loved hearing these stories. I pretty much love everything that comes from the fmh podcast . I wasn’t a huge fan of this format, I like the panel or conversation style more. But I’ll still listen and love everything you produce!

I’m sure you have a million and one ideas for what to do, but I was thinking a book club discussion would be fun to listen to. You could pick books that a lot of people have read like the Book of Mormon Girl, the God Who Weeps, Dance of the Dissident Daughter, etc. That way people wouldn’t have to rush to read books.

I liked the format as well as the typical format of the podcast. Thanks for the quotes from the Pew research center about mothers in the workforce and American opinion about working mothers- very interesting.

I liked hearing the more in-depth version of the stories; but the stories seemed so sad. It’s terrible that the USA is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t provide paid parental leave. It forced women to make choices that they shouldn’t have to make (worker or mother).

I really enjoyed this podcast. I always love the episodes where women tell their life stories. I learn so much from their struggles, experiences, and choices. I hope you do more about balancing motherhood, career, and life.

I found it very telling that all of these women talked about their decisions using the singular “I” rather than discussing how they and their husbands worked together to make choices about what would be best for their families. I’m sure in all of the cases decisions were very much made as a family, so it probably says something about the way we normally frame these conversations/debates in larger American society. Thanks, Lindsey, for bringing up the fact that we use different words and phrases when talking about moms vs. dads. I don’t think things will change in this country until we realize that this is a family issue, not a women’s issue.

I also wanted to add that it was strange and a little off-putting that you used “versus” in the title. Maybe it was intentional, but since all of the moms did both at various points, it wasn’t really accurate, and I think using that phrase (even ironically) undermines the point you were trying to make that it’s not about women arguing with each other or about choosing one or the other. I actually avoided listening to this episode for awhile because I assumed it would be two stay-at-home moms and two working moms battling it out.

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